Reflections (at different times) on ecumenical or interfaith issues, theology, spirituality, ministry, the arts, politics, popular culture, or life in general ... occasionally, just some funny stuff.

Wednesday, 18 December 2013

On being able to "get" Christmas: a sermon (Christmas Eve, John 1:1-14)

Christmas is a time when all sorts of things come together.

On the one hand, it is one of the three most important occasions each year in the worship calendar of the Christian faith.

On the other hand, it is a day when people of "all sorts and conditions", both religious and non-religious, enjoy a day of fun and festivity.

Many people are confused by these two facts and some are offended. In fact, some Christians really get their unmentionables all knotted up at this time of year. Personally, I think it's great that one of the year's most significant days of Christian worship is also our culture's most significant day of general celebration.However, in over thirty years of ministry, one thing that's become crystal clear to me is the fact that the more intensely "religious" sort of Christian often just doesn't "get" Christmas. They "do" Christmas because it's about Jesus, but many don't really "get" Christmas. And, in fact, I'll go so far as to say that, if there is a "War on Christmas", it's not being waged by people outside the Christian faith, but by some well-meaning Christians who just don't "get" Christmas.

Anyway, to enable us to really "get' Christmas, I believe there are three things we need to be aware of:

All people are part of the one humanity.

God is closely related to our one humanity

Knowing that God is closely related to our one humanity helps us to realise that all people are part of the one humanity.

First of all,

1. All people are part of the one humanity.

The theologian Reinhold Niebuhr once wrote a prayer that affirmed that God has "bound ... [all people] together in this bundle of life".

Martin Luther King said the same thing in an extended metaphor that found its way into many of his sermons and speeches. He said:

We are tied together in life and in the world. And you may think you got all you have by yourself. But, you know, before you went to church today, you were dependent on more than half the world.You get up in the morning and go to the bathroom, and you reach over for a bar of soap, and that's handed to you by a Frenchman. You reach over for a sponge, and that's given to you by a Pacific Islander. You reach over for a towel, and that comes to your hand from the hands of a Turk.And then you go on to the kitchen to get your breakfast. You get a coffee, and that's poured into your cup by a South American. Or maybe you decide you want tea this morning, only to discover that it's poured into your cup by a Chinese. Or maybe you want cocoa, that's poured into your cup by a West African. Then you want toast, and the bread is given to you by the hands of an English-speaking farmer, not to mention the baker.Before you finish eating breakfast in the morning, you're dependent on more than half the world.That's the way God structured it; that's the way God structured the world. So let us be concerned about others because we are dependent on others.

End of quote.

John Donne said much the same thing when he declared that anyone's death "diminishes me, for I am involved in humanity. ... Therefore, send not to ask for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee."

However, there are many who try to tell us that we are not all "bound ... together in this bundle of life". Tragically, there are many people who feel their human concern need not be for all humanity, but merely for a limited portion of humanity:

merely for those of the same faith,

merely for those of a similar skin colour,

merely for those who speak the same language,

merely for those who hold the same citizenship.

People who believe this may not necessarily be bad people. People who believe this may not necessarily be stupid people. However, people who believe their human concern need not be for all humanity are plainly and simply wrong. W-R-O-N-G. ... Full stop. ... Game, set, and match. ... Thank you, linespeople; thank you ball kids. ... The fat lady is singing. ... All people are part of the one humanity, and those who cannot accept this are plainly and simply wrong.

I hope I didn't mince my words here. We are all "bound ... together in this bundle of life".

All people are part of the one humanity.

But, not only that,2. God is closely related to our one humanity.
And here's where Christmas comes in.

In the early 1990s, there was a pop song that asked the question: "What if God was one of us; ... just a slob like one of us; ... just a stranger on the bus?" And, even given the colourful imagery of the song, this is profoundly what the Christian faith has believed for most of its history.

John's gospel speaks of how "the Word became flesh and lived among us ...". In the birth of Jesus, the eternal creativity of the living God became one with humanity. It is not a matter of some remote, aloof god whom people have to strive and struggle to relate to. Instead, we celebrate that God took the initiative to relate to us; that God became one of us.

This is something that the more intensely "religious" sort of Christian can have real problems with. It makes the whole God thing seem far too easy. There are:

no religious disciplines to adopt,

no worldly pleasures to sacrifice,

no doctrinal statement to assent to.

There's merely the celebration that God has taken the initiative to relate to humanity: "the Word became flesh and lived among us ...". I believe all this is the main reason why the more intensely "religious" sort of Christian frequently just doesn't "get" Christmas.

Still, for those of us who are Christians, but who aren't of the more intensely "religious" sort, this is good news. As well, it's good news for all people: "the Word became flesh and lived among us ...".

God is closely related to our humanity.

And, as they say in advertisements on TV for steak knives, "and there's more".3. Knowing that God is closely related to our one humanity helps us to realise that all people are part of the one humanity.

John's gospel said "the Word became flesh and lived among us ...". That's all. It just says "flesh". It doesn't say what kind of flesh.

It didn't say "the Word became white flesh. It just said "the Word became flesh".

It didn't say "the Word became male flesh. It just said "the Word became flesh".

It didn't say "the Word became Christian flesh. It just said "the Word became flesh".

It didn't say "the Word became Australian flesh ... or English-speaking flesh .... or heterosexual flesh. It just said "the Word became flesh".

John's gospel says "the Word became flesh". God's love and concern are given to all humanity, not merely to a limited section of the human family. God's love and concern are for all of us, not just some of us.

Knowing that God is closely related to our one humanity helps us to realise that all people are part of the one humanity.

And so therefore,

All people are part of the one humanity.

God is closely related to our one humanity.

Knowing that God is closely related to our one humanity helps us to realise that all people are part of the one humanity.

1 comment:

Yes, I like thatIt's sort of what I say.I told my congregations last Sunday that we need to stop whinging about the way the world celebrates Christmas. It's perfectly legitimate, not necessarily Christian…but then that is rather the pointIn my more creative and daring moments I have suggested that Jesus died for Fr Christmas. We often forget that!

Constructive comments, from a diversity of viewpoints, are always welcome. I reserve the right to choose which comments will be printed. I'm happy to post opinions differing from mine. Courtesy, an ecumenical attitude, and a willingness to give your name always help. A sense of humour is a definite "plus", as well.

Featured post

About Me

I grew up in the United States and have lived in Australia since 1980. I'm a retired (recycled?) minister in the Uniting Church in Australia. At various times, I've been a parish minister, ecumenical staffer, and hospital chaplain. Some of my interests include theology, liturgy, ecumenism, interfaith relations, history, politics, the arts, humour, and Christmas in popular culture. (I did my doctorate on Advent and Christmas as a "season of opportunity" for churches to relate to their communities.)